Victor's Acting Skills

With a deafening roar, the Marines and pirates across the entire island were temporarily blinded by the intense light.

When the golden glare faded, the Marines and pirates slowly opened their eyes.

"This..."

Every Marine and pirate present stood dumbfounded.

Victor was still frozen in the pose of throwing his punch.

Directly in front of Victor, a fan-shaped area had appeared.

It was as large as several football fields!

Within that area, the rocks, mounds, and trees had completely vanished. Even the soil had been gouged away to a depth of more than three meters.

As though they had never existed!

"Where's Gustav?"

No one on the island could see Gustav.

"Look, I found him!"

At that moment, a Marine spotted Gustav.

Gustav was lying several thousand meters away.

Gustav had just been blasted away.

Victor's heavy punch had sent Gustav flying head-on.

Gustav now lay motionless on the ground. No one knew whether he was dead or alive.

"Did we win?"

A Marine Soldier asked his companion.

"I think we did."

Another Marine Soldier replied.

"Was the boss defeated?"

"That's impossible!"

"How could the boss lose?!"

"Even Roger couldn't have defeated the boss that easily!"

The pirates of the Giant Crocodile Pirates began to waver, their morale suffering a severe blow.

Tokikake, Gion, and the others looked at Victor.

Victor walked forward step by step, seemingly intending to deliver Gustav's final blow!

When Victor reached Gustav's side, he raised his right arm.

His right fist once again shone with dazzling golden light.

"Roar!"

Gustav suddenly let out an enraged roar.

Victor's Observation Haki had already shown him the future.

Gustav opened his gaping jaws, intending to bite Victor's body in half.

Gustav had indeed been severely injured, but he still had enough strength left for a counterattack.

The "will" residing within Gustav's body was not only vicious, but cunning as well.

It had been waiting for Victor to approach before launching a sneak attack.

At that moment, Victor raised his right arm, perfectly blocking Gustav's gaping jaws and allowing Gustav to bite down on it.

Gustav's teeth were coated in Armament Haki.

Blood flowed down Victor's arm.

"Do you know why Roger and Whitebeard never provoke you?"

Victor spoke calmly, paying no attention at all to the injury on his right arm.

Gustav showed no reaction whatsoever. He was now completely driven by will and instinct.

"Because it's too much of a waste of time."

Victor raised his right arm and slammed it heavily into the ground.

Gustav's body crashed into the earth.

Like a drumstick striking a drumhead.

The entire island shook as though in an earthquake, and dozens of bottomless cracks stretching for thousands of meters split open across the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Then Victor swung his fist.

His left fist slammed heavily into Gustav.

One punch, two punches, three punches.

Every heavy blow landed solidly on Gustav's head.

Yet Gustav clamped down on Victor's body and refused to let go.

After throwing several hundred punches in succession, Gustav finally lost consciousness.

This time, Gustav finally stopped moving.

"It's finally over." Victor let out a light breath and released Life Return.

As he returned to normal, Victor immediately felt exhaustion wash over him.

Life Return: Eight Inner Gates Formation: Gate of Opening already put an enormous burden on the body.

On top of that, Victor's battle with Gustav had dragged on for far too long!

Thump, thump, thump~~~

His heart pounded violently.

Its rate had definitely exceeded 5,000 beats per minute!

Fortunately, he had eaten a Mythical Zoan, and his physical strength had been greatly enhanced.

Though he felt exhausted, he could still keep fighting.

However, he needed to look fatigued, to prove that he had expended a great deal.

At that moment, Victor turned around and lifted Gustav's body over his head.

"Long live Lord Victor!"

"Long live Lord Victor!"

"Long live Lord Victor!"

All the Marines of the Special Operations Unit shouted in unison.

Bogda, Zinor, and the others wore expressions of despair.

Victor ordered, "Wipe out all the pirates!"

"Yeah!"

The Marines cheered and shouted together, though some noticed Victor's chest heaving violently. He was clearly exhausted.

Marineford, Marine Headquarters.

Sengoku's desk was piled high with documents, like a small mountain.

At present, he was the only Admiral at Headquarters.

As a result, his workload was enormous.

Buru Buru.

Buru Buru.

At that moment, the Den Den Mushi on his desk began to ring.

Sengoku picked up the Den Den Mushi's receiver.

The Den Den Mushi mimicked Victor's voice as it said, "Admiral Sengoku, I've captured Gustav."

Sengoku froze when he heard that.

Only after a while did he react. "You said you captured Gustav?"

"Yes."

After receiving Victor's confirmation, Sengoku was no longer merely stunned. He was shocked, then silent.

Gustav was not particularly strong.

However, no pirate crew on the seas would ever want to encounter Gustav.

That was because Gustav was famous for being incredibly tough and hard to beat.

Even Garp could not easily defeat him.

Moreover, the more severely Gustav was beaten, the angrier he became, and his destructive power increased accordingly.

The Marines had once attempted to capture Gustav, but instead suffered heavy casualties.

Quite a few Marines involved in the operation had been eaten.

After a moment of silence, Sengoku asked, "Did you capture him alone?"

Victor answered, "Yes."

"Mm." Sengoku nodded, then asked, "Were you injured?"

Victor replied, "My right hand is injured and can't move for the time being."

"Mm." Sengoku nodded. That was more like it. If he hadn't been injured, that would have been far too absurd.

However, Sengoku was certain that Victor had grown stronger again!

Sengoku said, "I'll send someone to coordinate with you."

After ending the call, Sengoku began writing his report.

Victor had caused another major sensation.

The Gorosei would surely be pleased with this efficiency in suppressing pirates!

A smile appeared on Sengoku's face. He could be more aggressive with his plans for the New World.

Meanwhile.

Inside the cabin.

Victor's right arm was wrapped in bandages. With his left hand, he gracefully set down the receiver.

Holding the Den Den Mushi in his hands, Light asked with a smile, "Senior, you'll be promoted again this time, won't you?"

They were even more excited than Victor himself.

Because if Victor was promoted, they could rise along with him.

Although Light and the others followed Victor because of his greatness and selflessness, why turn down the chance to grow stronger and get promoted?

Moreover, the joy brought by promotion and increased strength had become addictive to Light and the others.

Victor said with a smile, "The rank of lieutenant general is definitely in the bag."

In truth, Victor was not particularly interested in the position of Special Operations Unit commander.

Although the rank was high and the freedom considerable, there were too few troops under his command.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Victor wanted to secure a position as commander of a directly subordinate branch.

He wondered which branch he would be assigned to.

Would it be G-5, or G-1?

No matter where he went.

The World Government and Headquarters would definitely squeeze Victor dry for every bit of his combat power!

However, Victor had suffered "serious injuries" this time, so naturally, he ought to take a vacation.

That was also why he had deliberately not used Armament Haki to protect his right arm, allowing Gustav to bite and tear at it.

Victor could be strong, but he could not be absurdly strong.

Otherwise, he would still be feared and suspected!

When the birds are gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning rabbits are dead, the hunting dogs are boiled!

Keeping bandits around to bolster one's own importance was the true path!

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